Two parents are suing a Las Vegas private school, alleging their 10-year-old son was excessively bullied for months and had a tooth knocked out.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in Clark County District Court by parents Noori On and Jimyoung Yu against Las Vegas Day School.
The filing lists Las Vegas Day School and three of its employees as defendants: teacher Cheryl Collins and guidance counselors Tom Shininger and Tara Warnsdorfer. It alleges the defendants neglected to address students’ bullying of On and Yu’s son for months.
Las Vegas Day School is a private school with preschool through eighth grade classes in Spring Valley. Elementary tuition for this upcoming school year is $21,000, according to the school’s website.
None of the defendants responded to requests for comment on Wednesday.
Boy found school ‘unbearable,’ complaint claims
The lawsuit alleges Warnsdorfer’s son and other students started bullying On and Yu’s son in January 2025. The students called the boy “dirty” and “stinky,” and the bullying led others in the class to exclude him from group work, according to the complaint.
The bullying escalated a month later when Warnsdorfer’s son pushed the boy hard enough that he fell, knocking out one of his teeth, the lawsuit alleged. The complaint also alleged Warnsdorfer’s son also pushed and kicked On and Yu’s son during and after classes.
On and Yu learned about the bullying on March 19, 2025, and met with Collins, their son’s teacher, to discuss the abuse, the lawsuit said. Collins told the parents that she would keep a close eye on their son, according to the filing.
But the bullying continued, the complaint alleges, as one student later threw a book at On and Yu’s son during class.
The boy reached a “breaking point” on April 11, 2025, and slapped Warnsdorfer’s son in response to the bullying he was enduring, the lawsuit said. On and Yu’s son received a behavior notice and one day of detention over the slap, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit said that On and Yu met with Shininger and Collins on April 23, 2025. Shininger focused the meeting on the boy’s slap instead of the bullying he endured from his classmates and told the parents that Las Vegas Day School did not consider what happened to their son to be bullying, the complaint said.
“Defendant Shininger also implied that (the boy) somehow deserved the abuse and bullying he endured because, according to information he attributed to Defendant Collins, (he) exhibited unspecified ‘socially unacceptable behavior,’” the lawsuit alleged.
On and Yu withdrew their son from Las Vegas Day School on May 2, 2025, and later moved to Arizona, according to the lawsuit.
“(The boy) suffered extreme distress and found LVDS to be unbearable,” the complaint alleged. “Most of his classmates avoided him, he continued to be bullied relentlessly, and he felt he could not trust the teachers or faculty at LVDS to prevent further abuse.”
Parents ‘lost faith’
The lawsuit said that a mental health professional later diagnosed On and Yu’s son with adjustment disorder as a result of the bullying he endured. Adjustment disorders are strong reactions to stress that involve symptoms of negative thoughts, behaviors and emotions.
In an emailed statement from his attorney, Robert Teuton, Yu said he and On initially tried to let the students resolve their issues with guidance from the school. But the two became concerned with the school’s approach to the situation after discussions with school representatives, he said.
“As strong believers that children need to be taught what’s right and wrong, we felt it was a matter for them to work through,” Yu said. “After multiple unsuccessful attempts to resolve this issue with LVDS, we lost faith in the school’s ability and willingness to ensure student safety and provide a nurturing learning environment.”
The complaint requests a jury trial and more than $30,000 in general damages and past and future special damages.
Contact Spencer Levering at slevering@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253.
